Cape Point via Scarborough to Chapman’s Peak Drive – 50min without the stop-over for lunch
Turn left onto M65 for Scarborough, past curio stands. (Cape Point Ostrich Farm is on your right.) At 8km turn left, following M65. Enter Scarborough at about 10km, with Camel Rock on your left at 11km, and the two Scarborough restaurants immediately after it. Keep straight at the 4-way stop (16km) and enter Kommetjie at about 18km. Pass Imhoff Farm at 22km and Solele Game Reserve at 25km. At 26.5km, turn left at traffic lights to M65, Ou Kaapse Weg (Old Cape Road). At 27.5km, turn left at traffic lights to M6 Noordhoek. Pass Noordhoek Farm Village (stop for tea!) at 31km. Chapman’s Peak Drive toll road starts 500m later. Settle back for a lazy return drive towards town, along a route that’s been described as the most beautiful in the world. And there’s a sunset picnic at the end of it. The route starts amid natural fynbos before skirting the sea again at Scarborough. Misty Cliffs is an idyllic cluster of houses before the road drops down past Slangkop lighthouse into Kommetjie. Yes, those are camels at Imhoff Farm. Dip inland briefly before climbing above Noordhoek’s endless beach to Chapman’s Peak Drive, an awesome marine road carved out of the mountain with sheer, boulder-strewn drops to the sea. (A toll fee is charged.) Chapman’s Peak Drive to
Llandudno, Bakoven, Camps Bay or Clifton Fourth Beach. (Llandudno – 25min, Bakoven – 30min, Camps Bay – 35min, Clifton Fourth – 40min)
After leaving Chapman’s Peak, drive through Hout Bay. At the second traffic circle (42km) turn left to M6 Llandudno. (Pass Valley Road to World of Birds at 43km.) At the next traffic lights turn right to Llandudno. For Llandudno beach, turn left at 45km. For Bakoven turn left into Beta Road at about 52km. Pass Balie Bay at 53km and enter Camps Bay. Pass left to La Med, then turn left to The Ridge and Clifton Fourth Beach at 55km.
Chapman’s Peak Drive delivers you to Hout Bay (which not so long ago declared itself an independent republic!) and then it’s a fabulously scenic drive to a variety of perfect sundowner spots. Take your pick from Llandudno, where there might still be time to catch some tanning rays; Bakoven, where you can grab a quick swim or sit among the seagulls on the rocks; Camps Bay’s wide open spaces; or Clifton Fourth Beach – good if there’s a bit of a breeze. If you don’t feel like a picnic, take your pick of Camps Bay’s back-to-back pavement cafés and trendy restaurants. Clifton Fourth Beach to Waterfront – 20min
From the turn to Clifton Fourth, continue through Bantry Bay, turn left into Seacliffe at 2.2km. Go along the beachfront through Sea Point and Three Anchor Bay. Turn left at traffic lights at 5.5km into Beach Road and Mouille Point. Pass Mouille Point lighthouse at 6km and turn into the Waterfront at 8km. Set the stageIf you’re still up for entertainment, it’s showtime at theatres all around town. Check the press to see what’s showing.
Cape Town’s two main multi-venue theatres are Artscape (Foreshore, city centre) and the Baxter (Rondebosch), where’ll you find everything from mainstream theatre to live music, dance, comedy and musicals, with Artscape also home to ballet and opera.
For work from local and international playwrights, go to the Theatre on the Bay (Camps Bay), the Intimate Theatre and the Little Theatre (both UCT Orange Street Campus). For considerably more irreverence, visit On Broadway (Green Point and Table View), for a changing mix of comedy, drag and cabaret, or follow the Cape Comedy Collective stand-up comics at various venues around town. The Independent Armchair Theatre reflects Observatory’s buzz, with live music, theatre, comedy and the odd film.
Kalk Bay Theatre regularly hosts famous South African names between a delicious dinner and dessert. When the weather’s good, watch Shakespeare under the stars at Maynardville Open-air Theatre (Wynberg, in January and February), or go further afield to more open-air amphitheatres at Oude Libertas (December to March) and Spier (November to March) near Stellenbosch.
And if you’re looking for music to lift the soul, the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra moves around town between Artscape, the City Hall, St George’s Cathedral and occasionally, Kirstenbosch, where they often perform at New Year. | 
